Speaker Jim Wright

Power, Scandal, and the Birth of Modern Politics

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, 20th Century, Biography & Memoir, Political
Cover of the book Speaker Jim Wright by J. Brooks Flippen, University of Texas Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: J. Brooks Flippen ISBN: 9781477316320
Publisher: University of Texas Press Publication: April 1, 2018
Imprint: University of Texas Press Language: English
Author: J. Brooks Flippen
ISBN: 9781477316320
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Publication: April 1, 2018
Imprint: University of Texas Press
Language: English

Jim Wright made his mark on virtually every major public policy issue in the later twentieth century—energy, education, taxes, transportation, environmental protection, civil rights, criminal justice, and foreign relations, among them. He played a significant role in peace initiatives in Central America and in the Camp David Accords, and he was the first American politician to speak live on Soviet television. A Democrat representing Texas’s twelfth district (Fort Worth), Wright served in the US House of Representatives from the Eisenhower administration to the presidency of George H. W. Bush, including twelve years (1977–1989) as majority leader and speaker. His long congressional ascension and sudden fall in a highly partisan ethics scandal spearheaded by Newt Gingrich mirrored the evolution of Congress as an institution.Speaker Jim Wright traces the congressman’s long life and career in a highly readable narrative grounded in extensive interviews with Wright and access to his personal diaries. A skilled connector who bridged the conservative and liberal wings of the Democratic party while forging alliances with Republicans to pass legislation, Wright ultimately fell victim to a new era of political infighting, as well as to his own hubris and mistakes. J. Brooks Flippen shows how Wright’s career shaped the political culture of Congress, from its internal rules and power structure to its growing partisanship, even as those new dynamics eventually contributed to his political demise. To understand Jim Wright in all his complexity is to understand the story of modern American politics.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Jim Wright made his mark on virtually every major public policy issue in the later twentieth century—energy, education, taxes, transportation, environmental protection, civil rights, criminal justice, and foreign relations, among them. He played a significant role in peace initiatives in Central America and in the Camp David Accords, and he was the first American politician to speak live on Soviet television. A Democrat representing Texas’s twelfth district (Fort Worth), Wright served in the US House of Representatives from the Eisenhower administration to the presidency of George H. W. Bush, including twelve years (1977–1989) as majority leader and speaker. His long congressional ascension and sudden fall in a highly partisan ethics scandal spearheaded by Newt Gingrich mirrored the evolution of Congress as an institution.Speaker Jim Wright traces the congressman’s long life and career in a highly readable narrative grounded in extensive interviews with Wright and access to his personal diaries. A skilled connector who bridged the conservative and liberal wings of the Democratic party while forging alliances with Republicans to pass legislation, Wright ultimately fell victim to a new era of political infighting, as well as to his own hubris and mistakes. J. Brooks Flippen shows how Wright’s career shaped the political culture of Congress, from its internal rules and power structure to its growing partisanship, even as those new dynamics eventually contributed to his political demise. To understand Jim Wright in all his complexity is to understand the story of modern American politics.

More books from University of Texas Press

Cover of the book Thursday Night Lights by J. Brooks Flippen
Cover of the book The First Texas News Barons by J. Brooks Flippen
Cover of the book Doin’ Drugs by J. Brooks Flippen
Cover of the book Postcards from the Río Bravo Border by J. Brooks Flippen
Cover of the book Women Filmmakers in Mexico by J. Brooks Flippen
Cover of the book Evolution of Desert Biota by J. Brooks Flippen
Cover of the book Texas Ranger N. O. Reynolds, the Intrepid by J. Brooks Flippen
Cover of the book Lord Byron's Cain by J. Brooks Flippen
Cover of the book Origins of the American Indians by J. Brooks Flippen
Cover of the book Women and Power in Argentine Literature by J. Brooks Flippen
Cover of the book Venomous Snakes of Texas by J. Brooks Flippen
Cover of the book The Hidden Isaac Bashevis Singer by J. Brooks Flippen
Cover of the book Competitive Archaeology in Jordan by J. Brooks Flippen
Cover of the book Why the Beach Boys Matter by J. Brooks Flippen
Cover of the book North Africa, Revised Edition by J. Brooks Flippen
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy